Chapter 25 - Joining the Fight for King and Country
Lizzy was walking in carrying a basket of eggs as she came into the dining room. Ian and Jamie were both there and looked up as she came waddling into room, her belly before her like a large round mass she could no longer hide. In fact, it was large enough that Murtagh still made comments about her impending birth on a daily basis.
Lizzy looked about. There were muskets, farm tools, pitchforks, and other things leaning against the walls. She cocked her head and then noticed there were a few unfamiliar men about, but they smiled in greeting and bowed to her, clearly showing they knew she was the Lady of the estate.
She dipped her head in greeting as she walked by them. Clearly they were not a threat and they were not the watch or Jamie would not be so relaxed.
Murtagh was nearby as he nodded to Lizzy who looked at them curiously.
"Wi' seumas mcclune 'n' duncan kenny ye wull hae thirty able bodied men fae lallybroch." Ian said looking at the list.
He handed it to Jamie who nodded. "Guid. Murtagh. We need tae tak' th' men tae Ceann a' Ghiùthsaich."
Murtagh nodded. "As ye say."
Lizzy looked at Jamie. "I will start packing then." She set her basket down and turned as she lifted her skirts. A firm hand grabbed her elbow.
"Yer nae gaun anywhere." Jamie said. "Ye wull remain 'ere, safe, wi' th' bairns 'n' mah sister's fowk."
She turned. "No. I am coming with you." She broke his handhold on her arm and lifted her skirts to go to the stairs. Jamie looked at his brother-in-law and Murtagh. He bunched his shoulders knowing a fight was coming.
He walked passed his sister who was looking after Lizzy. She grabbed his arm, stopping him. "She's in a mood. Gang easy oan her. She didn't kip muckle lest nicht. Th' bairn kept her awake."
"Ah dae nae care at th' moment." Jamie said. "A'm needin' tae speak tae her."
Jenny nodded releasing him.
Jamie trotted up the stairs and walked passed the nursery to the laird's bedroom. The door had been closed, but he opened it and stepped in. Lizzy was moving about packing a satchel with clothing, ignoring him. He watched her a moment and then stepped forward to her.
"Katherine. Yer nae gaun 'n' that is ma final word oan th' maiter."
She whirled to face him. "Your final word…" She scoffed. "You would go to war and leave me behind. The last time I spent two years with you in the mud and on the trails."
"It's na steid fur a lady."
"It is no place for a laird either."
He stepped to her. "Katie. Ah mist. Tae save oor fowk, scootlund, 'n' a' we haud dear." He said looking at her.
She looked up at him and did not back down. "I will not be left behind."
"Ah wull return tae ye." He said gently. "Ah promise ye."
She scoffed. "You cannot promise that." She said turning from him and moving to the window.
"Ah kin 'n' ah wull." He said looking at her. "Katie keek at me."
She did not.
"Katherine Fraser." He barked.
She flinched, but did not turn to him.
This time he went to her and turned her bodily to him. "Ah kin promise ye 'n' ah wull return tae ye." He said taking hold of her jaw to make her look at him as she focused on the wall to the side of him. Still she refused to look at him.
He growled and bent kissing her, letting her feel his penned up emotions. He pulled back. "Ah dae nae wish tae lea ye. Nae as yer, bit th' hielands ur worse than france 'n' winter is comin'. It's na steid fur a wifie tae be marchin` let alone a wifie wha haes juist given birth tae a bairn." He took a breath. "Whit if yer time comes upon ye afore a battle. Ah wull nae be able tae think oan anythin' ither than ye 'n' th' pain yer in tae bring forth th' bairn fae ye."
She took a breath, tears in her eyes as they finally turned to look back at him. "You swore to me after you came back to France after you were stuck in the head, you would never leave my side again."
He took a breath. "War changes hings. Ye ken that weel enough."
She pushed him back. "Go then! Get yourself killed! You will not have my blessing. Not this time James Fraser." She snarled. "I can fare well enough without you since you determined to let the Young Pretender have more of a place in your heart than your own wife!"
Jamie's face twisted at that. That was not true. How could she be so selfish to see he was not doing this to wound her, but rather save her and his kin.
She twisted violently away from him and moved toward the door to leave him, tears streaming. She was quick, quicker than he thought so heavy with child, but he crossed the room in three strides and pressed his hand to the door, blocking her escape from him.
"Let me go!" She snarled, small hands moving to pull at his arm to try to knock him away.
"No." He shook his head. He turned, blocking her bodily. She stepped back, crouching a bit like a small fighter.
"No." He repeated. "A'm laird 'n' master 'ere. Ye kin hae forgotten." He took a menacing step toward her. He would not lay hands on her, but he needed her to see reason. "Ah wull decide whit becomes o' ye, mah men, 'n' a'body 'ere." He said, voice calm, low, and deadly. "Ah wull hae a blessing fae ye 'n' nae a curse wifie."
She turned from him, tears streaming.
After a few moments she sank to her knees and let out a sob. Jamie reached for her and she knocked his hands violently away, refusing to allow him to touch her as she wailed. He watched, unable to help her. As she began to quiet he moved, kneeling behind her, drawing her to him. She stiffened, shaking.
From where he was, she could not knock him away from her so she sat, stiffly in his arms as he tried to soothe her ire. He lifted his hand to her belly, caressing, feeling the bairn moving at its mother's agitation.
"Mo ghràdh, feumaidh tu a bhith ciùin agus tha thu airson ar leanabh. Dh'fhaodadh a bhith feargach bheir e tràth bho do bhroinn. Tha gaol agam ort. Aithneachadh gu bheil." He said tenderly. The fact he was speaking Gaelic told her he was just as upset as she was. He often would speak in his first language when emotional in anyway, just as, at times she did as well.
It did annoy her because she could not understand a word, but the soft tone soothed her enough to at least stop weeping as he caressed her hair.
She said no more to him for the rest of the evening.
ZzZ
Jamie was still smarting from his argument. He did not wish to leave his wife in anger at him. If he was injured or killed she would never forgive herself because her last words were in anger to him.
She came down the stairs, eyes still puffy from weeping.
Jamie looked at her tenderly as she came outside to where he stood with his mount. He was fairly sure, like him, she had not slept well and looked very sad and alone. He took the food Mrs. Crook gave him and then came to her. "Katie?" He asked.
She whimpered and hugged him to her as tears came. "I'm sorry! Don't go! Please Jamie!" She whimpered. "I do not want to be alone."
He wrapped his arms around her protectively. "Hush noo, lassie. Ah wull be hame afore ye ken it." He put her back from him a bit. "Ye wull hae a bairn fur me tae greet a'm sure." He ducked his head down and kissed her softly and then pressed his brow to her own. "Mibbie even twa."
She swallowed hard and nodded to him sniffing.
He took a breath. "Wull ye gimme yer blessing then?" He asked softly, a hoarse whisper.
She looked up at him and nodded slowly.
He took a breath. He drew his sword from his side and then knelt before her, hands crossed on the hilt, head bowed forward.
Lizzy laid her small hands on his mane of ginger and cinnabar as she looked down at him softly. "Gott, bitte wachen über mein Mann, als er in den Krieg zieht. Bringt ihn zu mir nach Hause , unsere Kinder, und unsere Familie. Bitte bringen Sie ein Ende dieses Krieges bald und ich bete zu dir im Namen des Vaters, des Sohnes und des Heiligen Geistes. Bringe ihn nach Hause. Amen."
"Amen." Jamie said crossing himself and then kissing his fingers. He looked up at her as he rose to his feet. He bent and kissed her tenderly. "A loue ye sae muckle." He murmured. "Bade safe." He said.
She looked at him, a loose lock of her hair blowing in the wind. He reached up and tucked it behind her ear. He nodded to her and she nodded back slightly and then turned to go back into the house. Jamie watched her go and swallowed knowing she was in pain over him leaving. He was leaving her as well.
He kissed all his bairns and his nieces and nephews. He hugged Ian and then turned to Jenny.
His sister smiled at him gently as she lifted a rosary in her hands. It was made of wood with a little metal cross at the end. He dipped his head down as the breeze rustled his hair. He looked at her as she put it about his neck.
"This brought ian back tae me fae france."
He lifted the cross and kissed it before he tucked it into his shift. "Ye gave ian a token afore we left fur france, bit nae me." He said arching an eyebrow. "He, nae even yer betrothed at th' time…"
"Don't mak' me regret giein' it tae ye noo."
He smiled and touched his chest. They looked at each other for a long moment before she came to him and hugged him to her.
"If ye don't come back, brother ah wull ne'er forgive ye."
He took a breath. "Ne'er is a lang time."
"Ah ken." She sniffled.
He looked at Murtagh and Fergus who were both mounted. There were three wagons lined up with supplies for the men and the men were waiting for the most part, outside the walls of Lallybroch to go.
Lizzy had used her time to gather food from the kitchen, some money, take her small pack of clothing and medical box, and a bottle of strong valerian tea laced with laudanum. She knew Jamie likely thought she had returned to bed to weep, but she was not. She had a plan. He would try to leave her, but she would have the final word about it. She took a breath, using her plaid to wrap about her as she moved in the shadow of the building.
It was hardly fair. Some of the men had their wives coming to follow, to cook, to wash, and to keep company. Why did Jamie have such a problem with her coming? She had done it before. She knew how to run a camp and how to organize the ladies. She also knew how to use them to get what she needed at times from officers, as she had with some of the French to get soap for wash or thread for stitches.
The last wagon had just had an oiled tarp put over it to keep out the rain, which it was threatening to do. She lifted her items into the wagon, putting them in the wagon. She then got into the wagon as well, moving under the tarp to make a comfortable place for herself in the straw. She used the tartan cloth to pillow her head as she laid down, curling on her side, finding it to be a bit cramped, but comfortable. A fresh breeze came from under the tarp ties and she was out of sight of anyone looking about the wagon.
The wagon lurched and started to move and she took a breath. She had said her goodbyes to the children as they slept, all but Ellen who had woken and looked at her. After a soft conversation, Ellen seemed to understand and promised not to say a word to her aunt and uncle.
Next was Wang Lun who was not thrilled with the idea, but also swore to keep quite. He warned of Jamie's displeasure about her sneaking away to be with him, but she told him, he would forgive her. She made him swear to guard Lallybroch with his life until they returned.
Lizzy relaxed at the motion. The bumps were a little hard to take and she felt something fall on her leg. She gasped a little, biting her lip to keep from crying out as she moved the item away, using it to put a leg on, though she was sure she would bruise.
After an hour she took a breath and drank a few swallows of the laced tea. It took only a few minutes to take hold and she soon was in the dreamless sleep of someone who did not wish to wake during a long journey as a stowaway.
ZzZ
The group stopped for the night The wagons were put to one side.
Lizzy heard Jamie barking orders to the men. She moved, slowly, and looked out of a part that was tied. She desperately needed to urinate and so she crept from the wagon, dropping down to the ground, she gasped, feeling the bruising.
She moved to the other side of the wagon and then squatted down, taking a deep breath. When she finished, she rose to her feet and looked back at the camp. No one was there, but as she moved back she nearly walked into the back of a sentry that had been posted by the wagons.
She froze, thankful her shoes were the oil treated ones that made her soundless as an assassin. She backed slowly away and ducked under the wagon. She waited and he moved to the other wagon ahead of the one she was in.
She looked. There was no one near and she moved, ducking once more into her sanctuary.
ZzZ
For two nights and three days she traveled so, sleeping through much of it with the help of the laudanum. Things shifted and bruised her, but still she managed. She was running low on food and knew she would soon be discovered.
It was night on the third day when she heard voices near the wagon. She curled up as small as possible as she listened to the men nearby. It was raining and cool. She had wrapped a part of the tartan about her head and shoulders as she listened to the rain on the tarp above her.
Suddenly the tarp was thrown back near her feet. She moved her feet a little, trying to hide, but the movement was noticed.
"Whit hae we 'ere then?" A man asked as he grabbed for the small foot. He caught it and yanked.
Lizzy gasped, taken by surprise at the action.
"Weel, weel. A stowaway." The man said. He could not see her well, but Lizzy struggled as he pulled her closer. "Come then, th' laird wull wantae see ye."
She kicked, hard, into the man's face, feeling his nose shift under the top of her foot with grim satisfaction. She then moved, quickly to get away even as the man yelled a Gaelic oath.
Two more men were after her and she moved, surprisingly quick for as with child as she was. However, her burst of energy did not last and they caught her, easily over taking her over the distance rather than the short sprint.
She turned to face them, drawing her dirk and holding it in warning. She managed to make a small cut on one man before the managed to disarm her and hold her.
"C'moan lassie, gie it up!" One man said. "We hae ye. Noo ye shall see whit th' laird wull dae wi' ye."
Jamie had heard the commotion and looked up from where he sat having his supper by the fire. He looked up seeing Ross and Kincaid, two of the men bringing a small struggling form between them. Her tartan was wrapped about her face and shoulders like a cowl making it very hard to see who it was.
She was struggling as hard as she could, but the forced her to walk with them, holding her arms firmly between them. She was tiring and she hated her condition for it.
She was brought before Jamie who stood, face slightly amused at the amount of havoc the small woman had caused. Two men were bloodied, holding their face and their arm as the girl was tossed down at the laird's feet.
McClune came forward holding the remains of her meal and the bottle. "Oor wee moose appears tae hae fun th' fairn."
"I brought it!" Lizzy protested, making her voice sound different as she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees before sitting back onto her bottom wiping the leaves and dirt from her hands and dress.
Jamie looked and then noted her condition. "Weel, mibbie this moose wid be mair comfy if she wasn't thrown aboot." He said offering his hand to her. "A'm sorry wee yin. Come then." She took it after a moment. He looked at his men. "Did ye nae realize she is stoatin wi' bairn?"
"We thought her juist pie-eater fae th' light." Came the muffled voice of Roberts whose nose she had broken with her foot.
Jamie sighed. "Shows that yer unwed then." Naturally being a father of three children and another well on the way made him a bit of an expert on the subject at least in his mind. He looked at the girl. "Sae wee moose. Hae ye a name?"
She remained silent as she stood before him suddenly very interested in her shoes.
Jamie narrowed his eyes. "Ah asked ye a quaistion lassie." He cocked his head. "Yi''ll need nae be feart o' me lass."
Ross moved to take hold of her shoulder. "Ah wid listen lassie lest we break yer arm." He said in warning.
She gasped an tried to break free even as the man touched her arm experimentally.
Jamie lifted his hand. "We wull nae be daein' that fur a wifie in her delicate condition." He stepped closer. "Bit ah wull hae yer name, lass." He said more gently.
She shook her head a little.
Jamie was growing weary of this little mouse. He wanted to rest since they needed to be on the trail before daybreak. He reached up and pushed the cowl back revealing a face he knew all too well. "Mac na galla!" He swore looking at her as her nearly purple colored eyes turned to look at him.
"Hello Jamie." She managed.
He moved away from her fist clenching a moment before her turned back and moved straight to her, bending his face down so it was inches from her own. She gave a startled squeak at his angered proximity. "Juist whit th' hell urr ye daein' 'ere?"
She smiled a little bit trying to defuse his anger a little. "I told you I did not wish to be alone."
"Christ lassie! ye wur in a wagon fur three days!"
"Yes." She nodded to the bottle. "That helped."
Jamie looked at her. "Th'morra fergus 'n' ross wull see ye hame."
She looked about. "How? You haven't the horses to spare and I am quite sure you will not make me walk the whole way back."
"No." He said. "Th' neist village ah kin buy a mount fur ye then." He growled.
She moved toward where his tent was, set back from the others a bit. He grabbed her arm and held her fast as she gasped, trying to move.
"Howfur wis this wee moose missed?" He asked turning to the thirty men about. "Surely she left th' wagon at some point tae tak' a pish. Howfur wis she nae seen?"
"I was careful." She said softy.
He shot her a look in warning.
She swallowed.
The sentry came to Jamie. "Ah wis richt by th' wagon sur. Ah hae na idea howfur she managed tae git by me sur."
Jamie looked to his wife. Lizzy was silent now.
"My laird." A man said softly. "Wha is she?"
"Milady!" Fergus called happily seeing her. He ran to her, heedless of the death stare Jamie gave him as he embraced his lady.
Jamie sighed as Lizzy hugged the young man to her. He looked at the man. "Mah guidwife. This is Katherine. Lady Broch Tuarach."
The men who either had not recognized her or had not seen her blinked startled.
Jamie then hissed in French to Fergus to leave. After a moment the boy did, returning to where he was camped.
Lizzy watched him go affectionately. She smiled and turned to Jamie. Jamie's cat eyes of blue flashed in the firelight.
He was not amused.
"Ah wull deal wi' that th' morns mornin'. Fur noo. Tae kip, a' o' ye." He pulled Lizzy to his tent and all but flung her inside. She gasped as he came inside and she turned to him as he ducked his tall frame down.
He was silent as he prepared to sleep and she watched him, sitting on the bed roll, silent also.
Finally, she spoke. "Jamie say something." His silence was more unnerving than him yelling at her.
He looked at her, his look had not softened at all. "Ah wull deal wi' that th' morns mornin'. Fur noo. Tae kip, a' o' ye."
She shook her head. "I cannot be separated from you."
He sat down heavily. "Katherine. Yer stoatin wi' bairn. We hae na proper healer wi' us. If th' bairn comes …"
"You can deliver it, just as you have animals and Alexander."
"That wis different. That wisnae war."
She swallowed. "You helped me in the camp in France with several men there helping. I doubt here will be any different."
He looked at her. "Howfur ur mah men suppose tae be ordered whin mah ain guidwife disobeys me."
She looked at him. "It was your own fault for keeping me away."
He grunted. He moved to lie down. "A'm aye sending ye hame as soon as ah kin fin' ye a pony."
She shook her head at him. "No."
"No?" He looked at her.
She took a breath. "I will only come back."
He looked at her and rubbed a hand over his face. That was actually likely enough to be true. He sighed. "Come 'ere then eas-umhail mo ghaoil bheil mi altrum còrr bheatha fhìn." He sighed. Sibh deuchainn dhomh. Gu deimhinn."
She looked at him. "What did you say?"
"A loue ye." He answered and pulled her down into his arms to sleep. "We wull blether aboot this th' morns mornin'. Fur noo kip."
She nodded, for now willing to be obedient since she was so tired and bruised.